Alak, who has been a little quiet until now, stirs at the discussion on eating imps. "No, the Hellknights don't eat imps, that's ridiculous! They do summon a lot of devils, for the Test, and some of them do manage to get loose, so we need to be prepared to destroy them if that happens." He rubs his face, sighing. "This is... a little discouraging. I was hoping we'd find more traces of the Hellknights who lived and trained here, but this place has been thoroughly looted already."
By Gofran's reckoning, people came by here some time ago and ransacked most of these rooms, but not in a while. Karana and Beatrix don't spot anything else of interest in the kitchen.
Beau checks and opens the eastern door, which leads into a larger space, although his line of sight is currently limited by an angled corridor with three doors on the right.
Kyrie nods at Beatrix’s mention of the play. ”I have read that play. I met a girl who had a dinosaur named after it once. I think she was rather surly.”
Kyrie tries to think if she remembers the Hellknights she grew up around having such a wealth of silver weaponry around, or if she remembers them ever eating devils.
“What was the dinosaur’s name?”
Karana does the usual thing: she looks around and takes in strange scents.
Karana moves farther into the room, taking in the full extent of it. The shape of it is irregular, with many doors leading apparently to smaller chambers to the south and west sides, a large double door to the east and a door in a rounded wall to the north, presumably to another tower.
The room is littered with toppled bunk beds and broken furniture. In the center, bed frames have been stacked upon each other in a rough square, with ripped bedding draped over the top and sides to form a sort of ceiling and walls. Two words have been scribbled on a large plank that has been tied to the top of the makeshift construction. Karana recognizes the Goblin word for "fort". The second word is "Yoletcha".
Both Karana and Kyrie hear a fain snuffling inside the... is that a blanket fort?
"Don't worry, Alak. These are the easy-to-reach places, and perhaps more importantly, relatively undefended. As the summoning circle showed, the more dangerous and secretive aspects of the Hellknight citadel ought to be more intact." The cheerful Andoran seems genuine, but those close to him do hear him add a 'I hope' at the end and under his breath.
With the discussion on having fiends over for dinner coming to an end, Beau refocuses himself on the task at hand. "Say, Alak. These, eh, doors. Are they like, confession booths or praying cells? There are so many of them, and going by the outside wall," and he points towards the kitchen, indicating there can't be much depth to the rooms behind these doors before continuing, "whatever is behind them can't be bigger than a couple of feet by a couple of feet."
Alak pokes his head into the larger room, weighing the setup. "Could be, or they are individual bed chambers for the higher ranking members. My father has his own room in Citadel Vraid. Not me, though." He laughs.
Karana thinks of her brother. Of her childhood friend. Of herself as a scared kid when the goblinoids brought war…
Yes, it was goblins who annihilated her people, but she does not think as Calmont does. She is thinking of the child in that fort.
As she sheaths her weapons, she says to Kyrie, “Children. I speak their tongue.”
She speaks it gently.
She uses very simple words, which may be appropriate for addressing a child. But in fact Karana is very new to the Goblin tongue. She would have said the same if addressing the Bramblebrasher chief.
Anyone in earshot may have noticed the name Warbal was the third word spoken. Karana mentioned her own name as well, and in the end, her tone sounded as if asking a question.
A wide, furred face with a flattened nose and a very wide mouth filled with sharp teeth peeks through a gap in the fabric. This is clearly not a goblin.
Beau opens the closest door to a tiny windowless room that houses only a single person bed and a sturdy-looking footlocker. The bedding is gone, leaving only the thin mattress.
<And there is safety in numbers, if you wish to come with us… Yoletcha?
<Is that your name, or just the name of your fort?>
Karana speaks more. At one point she uses the fort’s name, ‘Yoletcha.’
Interrupted by the sound of conversation, Beau leaves the cell for what it is and turns around on the back of his heel as if struck by lightning. Luckily for Beau, the many-teethed thing doesn't seem to be hostile. "... what did it say? ..."
The creature sniffs in Karana's direction, looking warily at the others.
Yoletcha scratches the side of their face, seemingly considering.
Beatrix looks over and follows the conversation Karana is having relatively easily. She wants to correct a word or two there but thinks that might be considered rude.
When she fuzzy face is revealed she thinks...
“It is Yoletcha of Fort Yoletcha. Yoletcha does not wish to leave the fort.”
Karana replies to Yoletcha,
When Bea comes in, she adds, <Bea is an expert on things that are not animals.>
Kyrie and Beau may have heard their names come up. If anyone else enters the room, Karana introduces them to the creature as well—as she does when Bea steps in. She then goes on,
Upon seeing so many teeth, Gofran immediate reaction is to put his hands on the handle of his sword, though he doesn't draw it immediately.
Although only part of the head is visible, Beatrix easily identifies Yoletcha as a bugbear.
Yoletcha seems to relax a fraction as some introductions are made, letting some of the fabric fall away a little. Karana and the others close-by can get a glimpse of the bugbear's lean body, clad in a tunic made of hides roughly stitched together.
Narrowing their eyes in suspicion, the bugbear demands.
"Oh, a bugbear. They are not commonly known for their hospitality, though one always should not set labels on things unless they are bottles of things that look yummy but could kill you." Bea educates and advises and starts to wonder babble "I never did understand the bug part of bugbear?"
Amaya has been quiet since the brief altercation with the imp creature, and the abruptness of it all caused the undine girl to withdraw. It was so fast, and so violent! What was that that I did? Did I actually do it? This is the kinds of things that you only hear about in stories myth, right? Is this really where you want me to be?
As she comes around the corner and sees Karana with the creature (a bugbear?), she raises her hands in surprise, but pauses and lowers them instead, seeing that her friend is conversing with it. That's good, she thinks to herself. Maybe not everything that they find will want to try and kill us.
Not wanting to interrupt, she continues looking around the area.
As Karana converses with Yoletcha, some of the others search the smaller rooms to the south, which are all simply furnished individual bedrooms. Most of the items have been taken, either by the Hellknights when they relocated, or by whatever looters have ransacked the rest of this place. However, keen eyes and inquisitive fingers do spot several items of interest, either tucked away underneath the bed frames, or in a secret compartment in the otherwise empty footlockers.
Kyrie takes a hand off her shield and waves. ”I am Kyrie. I am pleased to meet Yoletcha. I do not know if you understand Common. I am sorry I do not speak goblin. I hope you are doing okay. I just want you to know that we are all friendly.” She tries to make gestures along with her speech to help communicate what she is expressing and to give off an impression of openness and relaxation.
Bea will translate anything anyone wants to say to Yoletcha.
Karana replies,
<Yoletcha, you are strong, so you can do well on your own. But you do not have to be on your own. You can choose. You can choose to stay here in Fort Yoletcha, or you can choose to come with us.>
Karana says her piece and wonders if Yoletcha is interested… or curious? She gives him a chance to respond. His curiosity was piqued enough to ask why Karana cares. Then will he ask what awaits should he leave his fort?
Gofran frowns at Karana's invitation. One thing was to not fight a bugbear, a creature known for its cruelty, and another was inviting it to join them.
Yoletcha cocks their head to one side, regarding Karana, eyes briefly flicking to Beatrix to acknowledge the translation.
The bugbear frowns, scratches the side of a nostril.
Yoletcha waves a sharp-clawed hand dismissively, the other reaching towards Karana. If Karana doesn't pull back, the bugbear pats her shoulder awkwardly.
Karana does not pull back. She smiles warmly.
She says to the others, “We should leave Fort Yoletcha now. We are granted safe passage.”
When she sees the loot, she says, “Pretty! May I have the wolf canine?”
Assuming that no one objects, Amaya hands the little trinket to Karana. "You did a good thing in talking with that creature. Perhaps this will lead it down a better path."
Karana proudly dons the talisman.
“Oh, it was not so hard for me to do that, Amaya. Eleven summers ago, I was the hardened loner shouting as I pointed my spear at a gentle goblin girl. She won me over with kindness.
“I hope you are right, that my kindness similarly affects Yoletcha.”
"I've never heard a bugbear speak before, they speak a much deeper version of goblin don't you think, almost growling their Rs. Very interesting." the gnome notes aloud.
With a bugbear at their back, Bae suggests opening the doors along the west wall of the room they are in, starting with the southernmost then up.
“And my what big teeth she had,” Karana chimes in. “The better to smile with, the dear!”
Beau does as Bea suggests and moves west. Once there, he has a look at the doors and then waits for the others to get into position before opening them. "Why do I get this feeling we shouldn't be joking about things with big teeth right about now?"
Yoletcha retreats into her blanket fort as Beatrix, Karana and Beau search the western rooms, which have a very similar setup as the previous ones, but with slightly lower quality furniture. They do not come across any enemies or traps, but their concerted searching efforts do uncover two flasks and a wooden shield. The flasks radiate magic, and several members of the group identify them as holy water.
While keeping an eye on the bugbear, Gofran tries to scout for dangers ahead.
"I'll take one of those, if that's alright." Beau doesn't have any weaponry that crunch and munch and who knows, maybe there are skeletons and worse roaming the basement of this accursed place!
With that out of the way, Beau moves up and checks the first (unopened) door he comes across. "Are we ready to move on?"
Beau opens the door to what looks like an auditorium or courthouse, with rows of stadium-style benches arrayed in front of a wide dais. Faded and cracked murals depict combat drill sequences and tactical formations. A tall lectern sits upon the dais, and around it numerous cloth insignias are scattered. To the north, sunlight filters in through the bars of an iron gate.
As Beau steps into the room, he can make out a low, purring growl that seems to come from beyond the gate, as well as rhythmic clicking sounds and occasionally a powerful thump that sends vibrations through the stone floor.
Karana will investigate the source of the purring, growling and thumping.
If she has any reason to believe this is an animal which with she can wildly empathize, she will do her druid thing:
A short flight of steps leads down to an open-air sunken courtyard surrounded by imposing octagonal walls. Clumps of weeds, grass, and even the occasional sapling protrude from the cracked cobblestone floor. To the west, the ground has sunk even further, creating a natural pool of rainwater. To the north, the battlements above have partially collapsed into a huge mound of stone and wooden rubble, with the top half of a weathered flight of wooden stairs rising up to the battlements above the collapsed section of the walls.
The source of the noises is an enormous creature that paces back and forth in front of the rubble, its claws clicking on the stones. Every now and then it lifts its snout to sniff at the air, and thumps its powerful tail against the ground, causing dust and small rocks to shift and trickle from the collapsed masonry. The creature looks like a cross between a dragon and a crocodile, its scaled body blue-black with red stripes across its back, on its abdomen, and along its four clawed legs. Long spines extend from behind its jaws and atop its elongated, snouted head, giving it a distinctly draconic appearance.
"Our dragon, I think." Bea whispers from beside Karana as she thinks about what it might be.
Amaya is looking around the supposed courtroom, seeing if there is anything interesting, when she notices Karana and Beatrix huddling in the northern hallway. "Is there something interesting over there?!" she calls out to them.
At the mention of the dragon, Gotta slowly moves towards Bea to also peek at it.
Bea looks back to answer Amaya, sees Gofran coming and gives him a smile, before focusing on Amaya again and expressing in hand signals (two hands chomping down, thrashing back and forth, and then like fingers running around in panic) that it is the 'dragon' that attacked the goblins, a final shrug adds 'she thinks'
As Amaya calls out loudly, the creature's head whips around, and, upon noticing Karana and Beatrix behind the gate, it rushes forward and slams into the iron bars, causing a shower of fine dust to trickle from the ceiling. It gnaws at the bars, leaving wet trails of spittle on them, then turns around and slams its tail into the gate, triggering another shower of dust. The gate screeches and groans as the pitted iron trembles in its sockets.
Amaya is briefly amused by Beatrix's pantomime, until the loud clang of something hitting metal, which unconsciously causes a little yelp to escape her lips "Sorry," she calls out again, this time much softer.
"Something tells me this creature ain't having your sorry, Amaya. Quick, let's fall back. We don't want to fight this monster in an enclosed space!"
Gofran gives Amaya a reproving gaze as she gets the dragon's attention. "This is no drragon, forr Torrag's sake, but a Grrauladon, a distant offshoot of drragonkind." Gofran scratches his beard, trying to figure out why such creature is here.
"This is veirrd... as farr as I've rread, they prrferr varrm and humid trropical climates, vhich Isgerr cerrtainly isn't... I'm talkin' jungles, see? Like the famous Mvangi Jungle beyond the Inner Sea. This one is definitely out o' its element." He flichs and steps back as the grauladon slams against the bars. "They arre vicious prredatorrs, of courrse, so even if not a prroperr drragon..." Gofran looks up, thanking Torag. "It is still quite dangerrous. Theirr brreath is also suprremely noxious to the point o' makin' an ogrre's crrack smell like rroses in comparrison."
"Grrab yerr bows and crrosbows, lads and lassies, forr ve vould be fools to vaste these barrs."
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Karana protests, “Please reconsider, Gofran. It may seem advantageous to do this, but the grauladon would be a fool to catch our arrows until death. Its only option is past that rubble, which is likely the path to the goblins we are here to rescue.
“In attempt to make our job easier, we may fail. Rescuing Warbal’s people is our mission.”
"Ve cerrtainly can't be surre, but I'd bet that if that beast could eat the goblins, it vould, Karrana." He points to the grauladon. "Look at how it is angerr, clavin' and slammin' its tail... it is as angrry as it vas beforre Amaya rrevealed ourr prresence."
"I think it is trraped and hungrry, thus the rreason it is so angrry. Do ye see any goblin corrpses nearrby?"
"I do not think it is honorable to attack a creature who cannot fight back. I will not stop anyone else from doing so. I will instead stand at the ready with my shield to protect you. I want to take care in case it is able to break through." She takes up position at the front of the group, ready to tackle any oncoming attacks and awaiting the actions of her allies.
Gofran crosses his arms. "Ye have been rreadin' too much novels, Dame Brreakspearr. Hunterrs have been huntin' and farrmerrs have been farrmin' since the dawn o' time... that beast is not a coverrin' man, orr a 'night in shinny arrmorr so ye can challenge it to a joust! It is a beast, a crreaturre that vould attack and eat ye vhile ye sleep peacefully in a tent."
Gofran looks at the others as he draws his sling and bullets.
Kyrie's face is serene, unmoving, her gaze still fixed on the dragonkin on the other side of her shield. "I am not a hunter. I am not a farmer. I do not think less of those that are. I have my code. I know it will often seem strange. I know it will often seem stupid. I have my path and I walk it. I do not ask you to walk it with me." Her Code and her Devotion have always been for herself, not a bludgeon to force other people to act as she wishes. The Lictor would have had her be a bludgeon.
Gofran nods. "If that vorrks for ye, who am I so say otherrvise?" He agrees, but adds. "I forr surre am keepin' vith my own morrals."
Impatient and aching to get this over with, Beau taps his knuckles against the door frame in the hope of catching everyone's attention. "Come on! Let's find another way to get to the courtyard and take it out!"